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Monday 17 October 2016

My Napoleonic British Army

There are 230 figures in my British Napoleonic Army, and they are organised into five Infantry Divisions and three Cavalry Brigades plus several unattached units that will be used to reinforce any expeditionary force, for home defence, and for garrison duty.

The First Infantry Division comprises four Infantry units (1st and 2nd Foot Guards and 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments), a unit of Rifles (1st Rifles), an Artillery unit (1st Field Artillery Battery), and a mounted officer.


The Second Infantry Division comprises four Infantry units (3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th Infantry Regiments), a unit of Rifles (2nd Rifles), an Artillery unit (2nd Field Artillery Battery), and a mounted officer.


The Third (Highland) Infantry Division comprises four Infantry units (8th (Highland), 9th (Highland), 10th (Highland), and 11th (Highland) Infantry Regiments), a unit of Rifles (3rd Rifles), an Artillery unit (3rd Field Artillery Battery), and an officer on foot.


The Fourth Infantry Division comprises four Infantry units (13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th Infantry Regiments), a unit of Rifles (4th Rifles), an Artillery unit (4th Field Artillery Battery), and a mounted officer.


The Fifth Infantry Division comprises four Infantry units (3rd Foot Guards, 5th Infantry, 12th (Highland), and 17th Infantry Regiments), an Artillery unit (5th Field Artillery Battery), and a mounted officer.


(I have christened this Division 'The Orphans' as they are a mixture of all the Infantry Regiments that I had left over when I was organising my British Army.)

The First (Heavy) Cavalry Brigade comprises two Cavalry units (1st and 2nd Horse Guards), an Artillery unit (1st Horse Artillery Battery), and a mounted officer.


The Second (Light) Cavalry Brigade comprises two Cavalry units (1st and 2nd Light Dragoons), an Artillery unit (2nd Horse Artillery Battery), and a mounted officer.


The Third Cavalry Brigade comprises two Cavalry units (1st Dragoons and 3rd Light Dragoons), an Artillery unit (3rd Horse Artillery Battery), and a mounted officer.


The rest of the British Army is made up of the following units:
  • 1st, 2nd, 3rd (Highland), 4th (Highland) and 5th (Highland) Militia Infantry Regiments
  • 4th Horse Artillery Battery
  • 6th and 7th Field Artillery Batteries
  • The Commander-in-Chief and numerous supernumerary officers

24 comments:

  1. The orphans. I like that. When will they see action?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Conrad Kinch'

      The name 'The Orphans' seemed to fit them ... so that's what they have become!

      I have the French to finish, them I want to tackle my Russians, and finally the odds and ends that I have 'acquired'. (These include some Italian Guards, a few Austrians, and some old Minifig French cavalry and Italian infantry.)

      I hope to begin using figures from the collection early next year ... but as I am a typical wargamer my plans may change.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Bob,
    Very nicely thought out organisation of the British- well done indeed. Regards. KEV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kev,

      Thanks! The organisation wasn't planned; it just 'emerged' from what I had in the collection.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. A splendid army, Bob! Lovely to see the divisions and brigades arrayed in all their finery.

    Hope to see them on the field of battle very soon.

    Cheers,
    Aaron

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prufrock (Aaron),

      Thanks! Organising the units into Division and Brigades was a very pleasant task, and drew a line under that part of the project.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. Bob, well done on completing your British Army! An inspiring sight that should frighten Johnny Crapaud!
    Regards,
    Arthur

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arthur1815 (Arthur),

      I was particularly pleased with the way the British Army turned out, and I am looking forward to completing my French Army so that they will have someone to fight.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. An array to be proud of Bob. A lovely collection.

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    Replies
    1. Chris Platt,

      Thanks very much! I am very pleased with the way they look now that they are finished.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. Service Ration Distribution (Hobby),

      Thanks! I'm hoping that they will perform well on the tabletop.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  7. Great collection Bob.

    I was slightly disappointed that the 1st Division did not have a brigade of Highlanders alongside the brigade of Guards.

    C'est la vie, as they say in upper Perthshire.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim Duncan,

      Thanks!

      Sorry to disappoint you. I originally intended to have a Brigade of Highlanders alongside the Guards Brigade in the 1st Division, but I had so many of the former that I decided to create a separate Highland Division instead.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  8. A fine, balanced army, all set for some serious campaigning. Excellent force you have there. I shall of course be forced to look to my own British army - similar in numbers to yours, though a bit lighter on guns and rifles.

    Unfortunately, I have allowed myself to become sidetracked (?) from my Napoleonic projects...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo,

      Thanks for your kind words! I probably have far too many Rifle and Artillery units ... but I had the figures and it would have been a shame not to use them.

      I have several ideas for other projects that I want to do some work on, and it is taking a lot of self-control not to allow myself to be sidetracked ... at the moment. That said, I am still doing the odd bit of work on my PORTABLE WARGAME book ... and that is a project I need to get finished in the near future.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. I was thinking that if the riflemen represented the light troops in general, and if the artillery inventory was represented more by the crews than the model guns thyen there really is no imbalance. I like making the best use of what I have as well, and would have done no different.

      Looking forward to the P.W. book...

      Delete
    3. Archduke Piccolo,

      You have rationalised and explained my thinking a lot better than I could have done!

      I hope to do some work on my book later today ... assuming that nothing distracts me.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  9. A fine looking army, I'm just trying to imagine how big a board it would take to deploy the whole French and British forces for battle. A rare event I'm sure but interesting to contemplate.

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    Replies
    1. I reckon you could field the entire force on a 6ft x 4ft table, and leave plenty of room for manoeuvre, no worries.

      Delete
    2. Ross Mac,

      I'm not sure if my fully extended wargames table (which is 6' x 4') will be able to accommodate both the finished British and French Armies at the same time ... but I'll certainly get a large chunk of both on. How much room there will be to deploy and move is difficult to say, but it should be quite some sight to see.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    3. Archduke Piccolo,

      A 6' x 4' table might be a bit on the tight side for space ... but I hope to be able to find out if it is possible one day.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  10. So you'll not be buying any more then? Right....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tim Gow,

      No, of course not ... although I did see a few figures on eBay that might be worth adding ...

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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